Trolley device for kites



No. 620,596. Patented Mar. 7, I899. C. A. LOWER.

TROLLEY DEVIBE FOR KITES.

(Appl icat ion filed May 7, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. LOWER, OF MARION, INDIANA.

TROLLEY DEVICE FOR KITES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 620,596, dated March 7,1899.

Application filed May 7, 1898. Serial No. 680,008. (No model.)

T0 at whom. it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. LOWER, of Marion, in the county of Grantand State of Indiana,have invented certainnew and useful Improvements inTrolley Devices for Kites, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

This invention relates to elevating devices, but more particularly to atrolley device for elevating parachutes and like articles.

The primary object of the invention is to provide simple and efficientmeans whereby a trolley or carrier may be automatically drawn or forcedalong an inclined track or way by a parachute and when at the desiredelevation the parachute may be automatically released to permit thetrolley or carrier to return to the starting-point.

Another object is to provide a suitable kite the string or cord of whichforms a track along which the trolley or carrier is adapted to run, andwhen at a. convenient distance from the kite the article attached to thetrolley may be automatically released, so that the trolley may return bygravity to the starting-point ready to receive another article which isto be elevated.

A further object is to provide a trolley having simple and eficientmeans for holding an article while being elevated or to permit thearticle to be released when at the desired height.

The invention will be hereinafter more particularly described withreference to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of thisspecification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of thedescription.

In the drawings, wherein similar figures of reference designate similarparts, Figure 1 is a general perspective view of one form of deviceembodying my invention, illustrating in dotted lines the position of thetrolley or carrier immediately that the parachute has been released andin other dotted lines the parachute in position to sail or float away.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the frame or casing of thetrolley or carrier. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the parachute in itssailing or floating position, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of thetrolley or carrier in the position it assumes while running along thecord or track.

The string or cord 10 may be held at one end in the hand of the operatorand the other end attached to a suitable kite 11, by which the string orcord may be elevated to any desired height, so as to form an inclinedtrack or way upon which the trolley or carrier 12 is adapted to run.This trolley or carrier 'may have its frame formed of two side plates13, suitably connected by a base 14, and in the side plates 13 arearranged bolts or studs 15, on which are journaled grooved pulleys orwheels 16, which rest upon the cord and form the support for the variousparts of the trolley or carrier. Between the side plates 13 of the framemay be arranged a U-shap'ed guide 17, which passes under the cord orstring and assists in preventing the latter from leaving the pulleys byreason of slack in the cord or from other causes.

For the purpose of holding the article to be elevated while the trolleyor carrier moves along the track or cord I provide a suitable retainingdevice, as 18, which is movably held in the frame of the trolley. Thisretainer 18 has an upright rectangular portion 19, adapted to span thecord or string 10, and has a horizontally-arranged L-shaped portion 20,which is slidingly held in ears or lugs 21, formed as a part of the base14 or secured to said base, as desired. The L-shaped portion 20 hasits-lower end 22 adapted to pass through apertures in the pendent earsor brackets 23, secured to the base 14 or other portion of the frame, soas to hold the end of a suitable parachute, as 24, or other articlebetween the ears or brackets 23, as shown in Fig. 4.

The parachute 24 may be of any suitable form and of any desiredmaterial, and upon the body portion thereof may be arranged any suitablecharacter or characters for advertising or other purposes. As shown, theparachute has a rectangular body portion 26, which has the cornersthereof connected by the strings 27 to a wire loop 28, which passesthrough and is movable in an aperture in a suitable weight 29, said wirehaving an eye 30, Figs. 3 and 4, adapted to pass over the end 22 of theretainer 18, so that when the parachute is arranged as in Figs. 1 and 4the wind, striking against the body portion 26 of the parachute, willexert its lifting force lengthwise of the string and will elevate thecarrier or trolley and the parachute until the same reaches the desiredpoint.

A suitable stop 30 is arranged on the cord or string 10 at a convenientdistance from the kite 11, so that as the trolley or carrier is elevatedby the parachute the portion 19 of the retainer 18 will engage the stopand will force the retainer to the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 2, thus releasing the parachute, so that the latter may sail orfloat away, as shown in Fig. 1, and the trolley or carrier 12 bepermitted to return by gravity to its starting-point.

The construction and operation of the invention will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings.

Assuming the cord or string 10 to be elevated by a kite so as to form aninclined track and the trolley placed thereon so as to hold theparachute, as already described, it will be. seen that the trolley orcarrier 12 will be caused to travel along the track until the portion 19of the retainer 18 engages the stop 30. The impetus given to the trolleyor carrier in its ascent will be sufficient when it engages the stop tocause the retainer 18 to be shifted in the frame of the carrier to theposition shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, sov

as to remove the end 22 of the retainer from the eye or loop 30 of theparachute, thus releasing the latter, as shown in dotted lines at 31 inFig. 1. The weight 29 will now act upon the body 26, and the eye 28 willshift in the aperture in the weight 29, so as to cause the parachute toassume a vertical position in order that the parachute may sail or floataway, as shown in dotted-lines at 32 in Fig. 1. The trolley as soon asthe parachute is released will automatically return by gravity to itsstarting-point, so that another parachute may be attached thereto.

I thus provide simple and efficient means wherebya parachute or likearticle may serve as a means to elevate a carrier or trolley toa desiredheight and then be automatically released, so that the trolley orcarrier may return to its starting-point in position to receive anotherarticle.

It will be understood that the term parachute is used in its broadestsense to include any detachable article that may be employed toautomatically elevate the carrier or trolley, that instead of the string10 being suspended by a kite and forming a track for the trolley a wireor other suitable connection maybe attached to some elevated point, soas to form an inclined track upon which the carrier may travel, and thatsome of the parts may be dispensed with or others substituted thereforwithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent--- 7 1. In a device of the character described, thecombination with a suitable track, of a trolley or carrier movable backand forth along said track and comprising a suitable frame, pulleysjournaled in the frame and adapted to roll upon the track, alongitudinally-movable retainerhaving an upright portion adapted to spanthe track and come in contact with an object in the path of move ment ofthe carrier, and an L-shaped portion slidingly held in the frame andhaving its end adapted to engage a portion of the frame to hold aparachute so as to move therewith or be released therefrom when theretainer is shifted in its bearings, said parachute serving as a meansto elevate the carrier along the said track, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described, a trolley or carrier,comprising a frame having side plates and pendent brackets, pulleysjournaled between the side plates and adapted to roll along a suitabletrack, a suitable guide interposed between the pulleys and adapted toassist in preventing the pulleys from slipping from the track, a movableretainer having an upright portion spanning the track and adapted tocome in contact with an object arranged in the path of movement thereof,and a longitudinally-arranged L-shaped portion slidingly held in theframe and having one end thereof adapted to move in apertures in thependent brackets to hold the object to the carrier so as to movetherewith or be released therefrom when the retainer is shifted in itsbearings, substantially as described.

CHAS. A. LO WER.

Witnesses:

W. W. YOUNG, J. H. BERY.

